Clemens Meyer

born in 1977 in Halle (Saale), Clemens Meyer is a German novelist and screenwriter. After finishing secondary school, he began studying at the German Literature Institute in Leipzig in 1998, graduating in 2003. At the beginning of his studies, he spent a short period in a juvenile detention center for minor offenses. To support himself during this time, he worked in various temporary jobs — including as a security guard, furniture mover, forklift driver, and construction worker — alongside receiving scholarships. The early years of his writing career were marked by financial hardship and existential crises, experiences that continue to resonate in his work. Meyer achieved his literary breakthrough in 2006 with his debut novel »Als wir träumten« [As We Were Dreaming], a strongly autobiographical account of a group of teenagers growing up in Leipzig’s working-class district of Reudnitz in the 1990s. Hailed by critics as a long-awaited post-reunification novel, the book was adapted into a film by Andreas Dresen in 2014. This was followed by the short story collection »Die Nacht, die Lichter« [All the Lights, 2008] and the novels »Gewalten. Ein Tagebuch« [Acts of Violence. A Diary, 2010], »Im Stein« [Bricks and Mortar, 2013], and »Die Projektoren« [The Projectors, 2024]. Meyer’s works have been translated into numerous languages and received multiple awards, among them the Leipzig Book Fair Prize [2008] for »All the Lights«, the Bremen Literature Prize [2014] for »Bricks and Mortar«, as well as the Bavarian Book Prize [2024] and the Lessing Prize of the Free State of Saxony [2025] for »The Projectors«. Together with Leizig-based director Thomas Stuber, Meyer also co-wrote the screenplays for the feature films »Herbert« [2015] and »In den Gängen« [In the Aisles, 2018]. Clemens Meyer lives and works in Leipzig. 

Last Update: 2025 

Als wir träumten
S.Fischer Verlag
Frankfurt am Main, 2006 

Die Nacht, die Lichter
S. Fischer Verlag
Frankfurt am Main, 2008 

Gewalten. Ein Tagebuch 
S. Fischer Verlag
Frankfurt am Main, 2010 

Im Stein 
S. Fischer Verlag
Frankfurt am Main, 2010 

Die stillen Trabanten 
S.Fischer Verlag
Frankfurt am Main, 2017  

Die Projektoren 
S.Fischer Verlag
Frankfurt am Main, 2024